Most helpful positive review

Even though this camera was released back in early 2011, it still is a wonderful and simple camera to use which delivers excellent image quality under any shooting conditions.

The camera has a glossy plastic finish which doesn't exactly exude quality or make it feel like a high-end camera. But construction on this camera is very tight. The plastic is light-weight but its not flimsy like you would expect. There is no rubberized handgrip, which I think was a mistake to omit this on this camera. Especially since its predecessor (and its competitors) have them. Outside of that, the hand grip is a very nice size. The one upshot to the lightweight plastic is that the camera feel very light with the kit lens attached.

One thing you have to watch out for is that the camera feels very out of balance when attaching a heavier lens. The Canon EF-S 18-200, while a good performer optically when paired with the T3, feels way too front heavy. And this will be true with a lot of the pro-grade Canon lenses that you attach to the T3. That said, this camera is a perfect DSLR for hiking due to its light-weight design (when used with the kit lens). It doesn't weigh you down or make you feel like you have a boat anchor around your neck.

The buttons and menu system have the typical degree of straight-forwardness found in most Canons. Canon's menu system is easy to learn and navigate through. That makes the T3 a good candidate for a student or someone that wants to learn photography in general and wants a camera they can grow with. Of course it offers full Auto mode but when you're ready to try and manipulate the more advanced manual controls, the Canon Rebel T3 is about as unintimidating as they come. It's also a great entry into the DSLR realm for hobbyists currently using an advanced point and shoot (and can be found for almost the same price as some advanced point and shoots).

With the exception of burst shooting, this camera's performance is excellent. Excellent start-up, shot-to-shot, and autofocus performance. It has 9 autofocus points compared to its predecessor's 7 points. I do not reccommend this camera as a budget action shooter. It has a slow continuous burst rate (2.7fps) and a very limited buffer. The Nikon D3200 shoots at 4 frames per second, but that is currently retailing for $200 more than the T3. So you'll have to decide whether or not that feature is important to you.

The camera comes with a nice, chunky battery which delivers excellent battery life. The viewfinder is 95% coverage and I found it to be satisfactory, some people say its really cramped but personally I think it's alright. The screen resolution is rather low at 230k, but in real-world use it's not as bad as you would think, and somewhat viewable in direct sunlight. I think both the viewfinder and the LCD are of better quality than the ones found on the Nikon D3100. And overall, the T3 is faster and more fluid than the D3100. After having shot with both cameras, I personally think the T3 is more enjoyable to shoot with... despite the D3100's better plastic and more advanced spec sheet.

The camera ships with the standard 18-55 kit lens but I suggest buying the kit which includes the additional 55-250 lens. The kit lens is sufficiently sharp but it might be worth investing in the newer 18-55 STM lens, as it is reportedly sharper than the 18-55 lens included with this camera.

Despite having a sensor that is of lower resolution than the newer Rebel SL1 and Rebel T5i (12 megapixels is still plenty for everyday use), the camera has image quality that pretty much matches or exceeds those cameras in most areas. It takes a very clean shots up to and including ISO1600 and has excellent dynamic range, color reproduction, and exposure. The camera does a nice job of balancing noise reduction with detail retention up through about ISO3200. And despite being 2 1/2 years old..it still competes very well with newer models on the image quality front.

The movie mode, while delivering solid video quality, is rather limited. It's 1280x720 HD and there are very limited manual controls. It's more like something you would use for quick clips rather than longer videos or movies. I think the Rebel T5i & SL1 are better choices if you're equal parts into videos and photos as they have far better video modes than the T3 does. But if you're main interest is stills photography, this probably won't matter much to you.

The Rebel T3 may not be the sexiest camera around but it is a simple, enjoyable camera to shoot with that delivers nice results with minimum effort and it appeals to a broad range of folks from DSLR newbies, to hobbyist, to even professionals looking for a light-weight backup to their higher end gear. At its current price, it is a great value and I highly reccomend it.

This camera was replaced by the Rebel T5 back in March. The T5 has a number of improvements over the T3. However.. image quality, autofocus performance, and battery life are not among them. Plus I have seen T3 kits at $300 or less lately. It's still a great buy even though it's a 3 1/2 year old camera at this point.

Most helpful critical review

Nothing wrong with moving up. But the build quality and features are worth about three stars. In the store, this feels cheap. Pics are better than P&S pics, so most give this five stars (due to the MUCH larger sensor in this compared to almost any P&S; the same is true for all DSRs). I'd advise getting a Canon T3i or T2i if you can stretch a bit. Feels better in the hand, more capabilities, better build quality (e.g., articulating, high res LCD), better features. For other new DSLR users, try the Nikon D3100 if you prefer which comes with a pretty good kit lens and is better built than the T3 --- do not get the Nikon D3000 which is cheaper but uses old tech and is not worth its cheap price. An idea is to skip the T3 with the Canon kit lens (if one still wants this camera) and get the Canon 50mm/1.8 for nicer pics and probably at a cheaper (or similar) price.

This DSLR is like a starter DSLR or starter motorcycle or starter house --- you'll probably want a better one soon enough and can save money by buying it now for not much more. (Or it may well just sit on your shelf as it is not as well made as some P&Ss are.)

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I purchased this camera for my daughter as a Christmas present this year and so far we couldn't be happier with it. Takes great pictures, videos, and is fast enough for great action shots. My only issue was with shipping. It took longer than the estimated delivery date. I emailed the vendor through Amazon and was amazed at the response time. They informed me that because of the holidays they were a bit behind and that they would expedite it out to me as soon as possible. I got the camera three days later just before Christmas so all was good. Once again I saved a bit of money going through Amazon, and got great response back from the vendor for the shipping delay.

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This is my first digital camera other than my phone cam. I had an old film type SLR camera back in the 70's that I learned on but just got away from using it and had started just shooting video. So when I got this camera and started learning all the really cool features I was amazed. The auto focus leaves a little bit to be desired it takes a while and sometimes I still have to move to manual but that's Ok as long as there is enough light to focus with. But all in all I love this baby.

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First time I ordered my camera it had a manufacturer's error and I had to send it back in. Thanks to Amazon's replacement policy I was able to get a new one free of charge within a week! The camera is great and I enjoy using the standard lens that comes with it. Can't wait to buy more lenses and flashes!

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I give my EOS Rebel T3 a 5* rating: it is more than i expected!! I have an elaborate set-up for the OM/2 gathering dust. But, having done a lot of photography with the OM/2 I had a set of expectations: The Rebel T3 needed to do the same sort of things that the OM/2 camera system did.

First off was evaluation of the lens. The Rebel cameras using the APS-C sensor (22.2 x 14.8mm) have a "crop factor" of 1.6 which means you take the focal length of an EF-S type lens times 1.6 to get the equivalent 35mm "full frame" focal length. So the lens that comes with the T3 is 18-55 mm APS-C or ~ 28 to 90 in full frame (36 x 24 mm) 35mm format. Close focus capability is included. This is an excellent lens to start out with. The old advice, when purchasing a camera: get and keep the standard lens certainly apples here. This 18-55 lens is also called the "Kit" lens and it is ideal for every day shooting, including birthday parties and such.

In learning Digital Photography I have found the T3 to be a good "stepping stone": it includes a number of "pre sets": or "automatic" modes for portraits, pets, close ups, sports, landscapes, automatic, night and such that let you take the camera out of the box, charge the battery and start taking great pix with only a brief session with the "getting started" manual. You do need to learn to charge the battery and install and format the memory card ( be sure to buy one ). And get the lens hood if you shoot out doors. Set the camera on AUTO and go to it!! You can learn to use the additional features at your own speed, as you need them.

The package includes a CD with some *very* good photo editing tools that let you download pix from the camera and then edit your collections. Great stuff, very useful if you like to Play with Pix on Computer -- as is very popular these days!!

Speaking of Playing with Pix on Computer if you are into OnLine sharing, FB, Windows/Live etc you will likely find images in the range of 1024x768 pix are adequate for casual online sharing. Images online do not need to be larger than you can display on-screen. For this reason the 12 m/px T3 will probably be all that is needed for sharing pix online. 12 m/px is 4272x2848 -- much bigger than you need for on-line sharing!!* The 18 m/px of the T3i would be desirable for higher level work, particularly printing where you will want to change the image to 300 dpi or even to 1200 lines/inch. But that is another subject entirely; those interested in this area will likely want to start looking at the EOS 60D and possibly settle on a full frame model discussion of which is beyond my level of expertise. Although it appears to me that improvements in the sensors -- APS-C and now Nikon's CX -- are going to obsolete the old 36x24mm "full frame" systems. "IMHO", anyway. Check out stuff done with the G12 -- using a 1/1.7 (7.6 x 5.7 mm ) sensor

Last but not least: the T3 is a great "stepping stone" offering "point and shoot" or camera control as photographer's choice, and as the EF-S type lenses are compatible through the EOS/Rebel line generally -- a lens that you add for the T3 might be used also on a T3i or 60D that you add later -- which you won't do if you go into a "high end" "point and shoot".

I have already added the EF-S 15-85 IS lens; I'll comment on that, in a month or so.

* the Digital Photo Professional software -- included with the camera -- will let you re-size -- and you can even do a whole set of images in a single "batch" operation -- after you have your selections to upload. Although the camera will let you shoot smaller size original images, I wouldn't do that: If you get a good one: you can't go back and say: I want full resolution. Better to shoot all originals at full resolution.

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An incredible camera for an affordable price. It has all the features one could want for a DSLR yet is easy enough for even inexperienced photographers to use right out of the box. An enthusiastic 5 stars!

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I have never used any other DSLR, so I don't know how this one compares to others, but it was (relatively) cheap, and it was FAR better than any of the point-and-shoot alternatives. I had given up on cheap cameras and started taking pictures with my phone, but I take this one with me whenever I actually expect to take pictures of anything. It is worth carrying an extra bag.

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A great camera to have if you are an aspiring photographer. Paired with a good "how to" book you can take incredible pictures. I invested as well in a good macro and zoom lens to take my picture taking to the next level. Buttons and Menus are easy to find/use and I was quite impressed with how simple it was to access manual settings like shutter speed and iso.

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Great camera, worth every penny and very user friendly. We use it on a daily basis at work to take over 300 pictured of vehicles and everyone from the most tech savvy to computer illiterate employees use it with ease! Great camera and I highly recommend it!!!